Parktown Boys pupil, 13, found dead after orientation camp tragedy

The body of a missing grade 8 Parktown Boys' High pupil has been found by police.

“The family was fully briefed and we are all devastated by this tragic accident. Our thoughts are with the family and the school community,” Gauteng education MEC Panyaza Lesufi said on Friday.

The last time 13-year-old Enoch Mpianzi* was seen was moments before a homemade river raft overturned during a water activity on an orientation camp at a lodge near Brits in the North West, police said.

The school left for the orientation camp on Wednesday.

“The children were divided into groups and they were given material to build their own water raft. They were going down the Crocodile River,” Col Adele Myburgh said.

Myburgh said Enoch was with a group of about 12 pupils on the homemade raft before it overturned.

“It seems like the currents were quite strong and the last time the boy was seen is when some of his friends saw the raft overturn and the children fell off into the water,” Myburgh said.

Myburgh said the incident happened about 3pm on Wednesday.

*The initial missing person's alert incorrectly spelled his name as Enock Mpianzi. This has been corrected by the Gauteng education department.